BOX SCORE
CHICAGO – The Bears had a real opportunity to continue their winning ways against the struggling New York Giants.
They were playing at home and in inclement weather while armed with a stout offensive line and a strong run game. A sixth win was within reach on paper, especially against a 2-7 team from the Big Apple.
The Giants put up a fight, as they have at several points this season. The Bears found themselves down two scores early in the second half despite having opportunities to take control of the game.
[WATCH: Caleb Williams found a way to win in ‘gutsy’ showing]
That left this game in the balance late. That’s when the Bears showed up big. Again.
They ultimately came out on the right end of this one, with a 24-20 win on Sunday at Soldier Field.
Let’s examine what we learned from this Week 10 result:
Bears come through in the clutch (again)
The Bears are typically good under pressure, especially at a game’s inflection points. There have been dramatic examples of that late in games, but there are more subtle ones that have made positive impacts in those areas.
That wasn’t the case on Sunday. The Bears offense really struggled on critical downs, both on third and fourth down. That led to stalled drives and a lack of scoring overall on a day were long field goals weren’t strategically available due to the wind.
The Bears came to life late, though, as they’re known to do. They cut a two-score deficit to one on a touchdown from quarterback Caleb Williams to Rome Odunze with 3 minutes, 56 seconds remaining.
Then the defense responded with a huge stop that was highlighted by slot cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s second sack of the day.
The Giants shanked a punt and the Bears were quickly in range for a game-tying field goal. They didn’t attempt one. Didn’t need to after Williams took off running for a 17-yard touchdown.
The defense, which couldn’t close the Bengals out last week and needed Williams to bail them out, shut the Giants’ last drive down to ice yet another fourth-quarter comeback.
Bears receivers do Caleb Williams no favors
Williams was rolling to his right early in this game and threw a perfect strike to Olamide Zaccheaus in the end zone. The veteran dropped it. The ball was slick, especially when it was snowing early on, but that was a ball he should catch.
The Bears eventually turned it over on downs, resulting in no points.
Zaccheaus also had another drop down the sideline that would’ve been an explosive play. D’Andre Swift dropped a pass that would’ve been a first down. According to Pro Football Focus in-game stats, DJ Moore had two drops and running back Kyle Monangai couldn’t corral a catchable pass in the flat.
Rome Odunze was wide open for a possible fourth-quarter touchdown and couldn’t bring in what would’ve been a tough catch that he still got both hands on.
Those are all opportunities missed and significant setbacks during a close contest where every yard and point matters. It’s also a surprise development considering they had been credited with just seven drops all season prior to this game, per ESPN.
Bears roughed up in the middle eight
The Bears emphasize playing well in the “middle eight,” the last four minutes of the first half and the first four of the second half. They didn’t do so against the Giants. The offense didn’t manage a late first-half possession well, with a turnover on downs with 1 minute, 3 seconds left.
The Giants were able to work a field goal out of that drive to set up the first part of a 2-for-1. The Bears won the toss and elected to receive – they didn’t score on that opening possession – so the Giants took the second half kickoff. They drove 56 yards on six plays for a touchdown on a 24-yard touchdown run by Jaxson Dart. That put the Bears behind in a crucial sequence that changed the tenor of Sunday’s game.
The Bears haven’t been great in that area recently, and it’s something they’ll have to manage better in the future. That’s especially true if their opponent receives to start the second half.
